This invention relates to toys and the like, typically enjoyed by users such as children and collectors, and in particular those suited to very small children. More specifically, the present invention relates to interactive toys and the like which are electromechanically adapted to provide a response or reaction when engaged by users.
The present invention relates particularly to toys with battery powered illumination features, and a unique method of use thereof. Such toys typically would be of a size and weight to be readily manipulated by a small child, or easily stored nearby in a location ready-for-play or interaction.
For generations, conventional toys, whether plush, stuffed or of the more rigid variety, have fascinated children and collectors alike. Popular toys and collectables have included plush or soft varieties ranging from the timeless Teddy Bear to the more contemporary BEANIE BABY®.
Still others of a more rigid nature are exemplified by CABBAGE PATCH®, BARBIE®, GI Joe® and Furby® dolls. Toy planes, trucks and cars may also be animated with facial (human-like) features such as eyes, noses, mouths, and ears, and may also be afforded an invitingly soft pushiness so as to join the space traditionally filled by the “Teddy.”
From a review of the history of commercially available toys and collectables of the types described above it is evident that continuous efforts, many of those successful, have been undertaken to enhance their play value especially where small children are concerned. For example, plush and rigid toys alike may be provided with flexible limbs and other articulation features. With the help of clever inventors, such toys may walk, bark, moo, sing, and even blush on command.
Many toys of this type are equipped with bells, rattles, squeakers, voice boxes, sirens, and a wide range of other sound producing elements and recorded message/playback devices. Recent high-tech features even enable dolls and/or plush toys to react to ambient conditions or to the presence of, or signals from, other similarly equipped toys. Toys now perform certain robotic tasks, simulate a conversation, and sense light and darkness. Such toys can be both entertaining and demanding.
Toys also may be equipped to make, or emit, light themselves. Devices have been devised to accessorize and enhance toys from the earliest days of light bulbs to the more recently introduced light emitting diodes. Lighting accessories play different roles in different applications. For example, they may provide toys, dolls and plush/stuffed animals with dazzling decorative features, or simply suggest humanesque qualities of character and warmth. They may generate entertaining light shows, or simply illuminate a room or pathway.
For example, Bailey's U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,209 presents a doll designed to provide an interactive experience for a caretaker as the doll demands feeding, picking up, and rocking. The doll communicates its needs by LED (light emitting diode) eyes. The eyes are lit when the doll is “awake.” A crying sound is provided by a speaker that further offers burping sounds following “feeding.” The LED changes colors and blinks in a coded manner to signal the doll's “needs.” Of course, this doll is not for very young children or infants.
Gahly's U.S. Pat. No. 6,663,393 shows another high-tech version of an interactive doll. Eye and lip movements are simulated as well as skin color changes. An electromechanical device controlled by a micro-processor enables the eye and lip movements. Skin color changes are implemented using a plurality of LED's in various colors located inside the doll and also controlled by the microprocessor.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,514,117, Hampton et al. show yet another high-tech interactive doll. This is believed to be one of the reactive Furby® line, and includes an audio sensor in the form of an interior microphone. Between the animal's eye openings a light sensor is mounted between an IR transmitter element and IR receiver element. This permits communication between a plurality of similarly equipped toys. Like the inventions of Gahly and Bailey, discussed above, the Hampton et al. toy is for action play, as compared to comforting, and apparently not for very young children.
Catalano, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,954,640, illustrates a doll that can be made to “cry” by pumping fluid from an internal container and through conduit outlets positioned adjacent the doll's eyes. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,376, Copley et al. illustrate a stuffed toy having an animal-shaped body and including a belly portion that can be illuminated. Electrical circuitry and a power source, triggered by a touch sensor of a well known variety, generate a current flow to illuminate a dome-shaped member at the belly portion. A timer circuit automatically turns of the illumination source a predetermined time after is has been activated by touching the touch sensor.
Illustrated by DeMars in U.S. Pat. No. 4,585,424 is another animal-shaped toy (in this instance a bear is simulated) equipped with imaginative lighting that provides the bear with a bashful demeanor. Lamps are positioned behind the bear's face and activated by a manual pressure switch. As the lamps illuminate, the bear appears to blush.
Fisher, in U.S. Pat. No. 928,744 shows an early 20th Century version of a stuffed bear, provided with a lighted nose and movable jaw. An external switch activates the animal's nose and jaw. It is not uncommon to use electric light bulbs or, more recently, LED's to represent the eyes of a doll, stuffed animal or other novelty toy. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,263,743 Hanson et al. depict a novelty toy in the form of a skull having lights placed in the eye sockets, and made to generate different shades of color. Rubenstein's U.S. Pat. No. 2,098,166 illustrates a combined tail-wagging, eye blinking device where lights are placed in a simulated dog's head.
Kinberg et al. present U.S. Pat. No. 4,734,074 demonstrating a stuffed toy simulating an animated creature, as for example an owl. The creature includes eyes depicted by light bulbs or LED's of the blinking variety. The body of the device is formed of a resilient or flexible material such that when pressed it will return to its original shape. Within the body is a collapsible bellows associated with a voice box that will generate a sound associated with the animated creature.
Also associated with the bellows of the Kinberg et al. device is an electrical circuit and power source connected with the blinking light bulbs or LED's. This is meant to be sufficiently interesting to a small child who would squeeze the toy so as to force air through the voice box thus generating a simulated creature sound (e.g., a “hoot”). Simultaneously with the voice box sound or, as suggested, independently, interconnection between the power source and bulbs/LED's will activate the blinking lights.
Kinberg et al. go on to state that this joint activity (i.e., blinking lights and sound) greatly adds to the play value of the device and enhances the child's enjoyment. While this device would be entertaining, it could hardly be comforting. Further, this toy lacks concern for safety measures with respect to exposed bulbs/LED's. This toy, in Applicant's estimation, would not be a preferred toy for a small child's bed.
Unlike other toys discussed above, patentee Woods recognizes the hazards of exposed bulbs/LED's in his depiction, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,273, of yet another toy configured as a doll or other animal. Woods' toy includes a pair of eyes fashioned with two flashlight bulbs. These bulbs are mounted within pupil passages in the toy's eyes and connected to a source of electrical energy by means of an externally operated switch. As a safety feature, the passages are restricted to prevent accidental removal of the bulbs. The Woods toy and others discussed herein as having lights or diodes replicating eyes fall short in the simulation of eyes.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,511,214 granted to Parsons et al. is referenced herein for its discussion of diodes powered by batteries and controlled by pressure switches. Of particular interest is the discussion of well known micro light technology involving diodes and pressure switches, and the improvements described as the Parsons et al. invention. Different kinds of LED's and suggested applications therefore are discussed.
Regardless of levels of intensity, and where they may be placed, light bulbs and LED's will be perceived only as brightly lit spots or flashes; not as actual eyes with pupils and expression. Further, exposed bulbs or diodes may prove unsafe for use by and around small children. Bulbs or LED's may be pulled from their sockets, and could be broken or swallowed by a relatively young child or infant. Moreover, removal of bulbs/diodes from the wiring circuit may, of course, pose further, obvious hazards.
Despite continued advances in toy technology and a growing variety of ancillary features, prior art toys of the plush or doll type fall short of engendering a sense of personal connection on the part of a child or collector. There remains a strong desire among toy users and collectors for a toy animal, doll or the like with a substantially increased capability for conveying a sense or feeling of connectivity and security, and to do so in a safe manner. The present invention effectively resolves the shortcomings and inadequacies of the prior art in satisfying a long felt need.